


Ice on the shore

by Celestlian



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Merman Jack Frost, Princess Anna, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7813522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestlian/pseuds/Celestlian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is a merman with ice powers, desperate to see the world. Anna is a human princess, who when little found an heirloom in the sands near the ocean. At one point, their lives collide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FuntasticFrost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuntasticFrost/gifts).



A pair of bare feet ran along the shore, near the sea. Two strawberry blonde pigtails flowed as a girl with vibrant blue eyes continued running. Her father called out to her, "careful Anna, you don't want to get hurt."

 

"I won't papa! I'm as quick a-ow!"

 

She hopped on one foot, sitting down on the sand as she rubbed the area that was hurt. She wiped the tears from her eyes as her father ran towards her. "Anna?"

The little princess didn't answer, however. She just stared and plucked the object that had hurt her foot out the sand before it could be washed away by the waters.

 

"Papa look! I found something!"

"What is it?" her father asked. Anna was always finding strange things, whether it be in the castle, on the balcony or along the shore. Her father, however, always failed to contain his excitement when his daughter had found something new.

"It's a bronze...thingy."

"Let me see." The man took it gently from Anna's hands. He studied the object for a few moments before smiling widely. "This is a brooch, Anna."

"A brooch?"

"Yes. A piece of jewellery. It looks brand new. I wonder where it came from."

"Can we keep it papa?" Anna asked hopefully.

"Well, I don't see why not. You could always use it someday," the King said. "Maybe it could come in handy."

"Agnar!"

 

The green eyed man looked up at his wife, who waved. He returned the gesture. Anna bounced up and down on seeing her mother.

"Mama I found something!"

"Come inside and show it to me," her mother said with a gentle smile. Her father grinned from ear to ear, putting Anna on his shoulders. He ran to the castle, and the princess squealed and laughed. She kept hold of the brooch.

 

When the two got to the castle, Anna was put down on her bed by a smiling dad. Her mother walked in. "Let's see."

"Papa says it's a brooch," Anna said matter-of-factly. Iduna paused, looking at the brooch. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Anna looked at her mother worriedly. "Mama?"

"That isn't any normal brooch honey. It has some strange symbol in the middle." She pointed. The other two members of the Arendelle family looked at the symbol at the centre.

"Is that a shell?"

"Yes, yes it is. I believe that it came from the sea." At this, Iduna looked out the window. Anna paused.

"Why would it come from the sea?" she asked curiously.

"Because mermaids live under the sea," Agnar answered without hesitation.

"Agnar-"

"Really?"

"Yes, but we'll never see them. They don't like us humans, you know."

Iduna decided to play along when this point was made. "Yes, they don't. We've never seen one, have we Agnar?"

"No, no, of course not. It would be strange to see a mermaid in these waters."

"Oh." Anna was disappointed, but since her parents had never seen a mermaid, she wouldn't either...right?

 

As she was tucked into bed, Anna couldn't help but wonder if mermaids were really real. She smiled widely at her mother, who kissed her forehead gently, her dark brown hair falling in soft waves.

 

"Goodnight Anna."

"Goodnight Mama."

 

As soon as she heard her mother's footsteps fading away, however, Anna ran to the windows and threw them open. She smiled widely, looking out at the sea. "Hello?" she whispered, hoping her voice would catch onto the wind, and that someone would answer. Luckily, someone did - with a strange gift.

 

An ice blast was shot at her head. Anna swayed and abruptly fell to the floor with a thud. Iduna and Agnar heard the thump and ran in. "She's ice cold," Iduna whispered, cradling their daughter. Agnar looked at Iduna. "I know where to go."

 

In the woods near the castle, they received help from the trolls.

 

"We will have to erase all memories of the sea."

 

"But...she grew up loving it," Agnar said. Iduna placed a hand on her husband's back, trying to calm him down.

 

"I know Your Majesty," the troll said sadly. "But...it's for the best."

 

Agnar hung his head, nodding. Iduna frowned. "She won't remember anything of it?"

 

"No. You are, however, allowed to keep one memory."

 

Agnar looked to Iduna. "Which one should we keep?" he asked.

 

"Her finding the brooch, I think," Iduna decided. Agnar nooded.

 

"That one please."

 

In an instant, all the other memories of the sea were vaporised, and the King and Queen of Arendelle returned to the castle with heavy hearts.

 

 _It's for the best_ , Agnar thought. _It's for the best_.

 

**-13 years later-**

 

Jack was a rogue. He had drowned into the deep sea, but had miraculously been revived as a spirit. Now he wandered the sea alone, trying to find solace. It didn't help that his ice powers often frosted over caves and scared merfolk.

That thought spurred him on. Jack laughed, zooming and flipping through the water, curiously like a dolphin. He was alone, but it didn't mean he couldn't have fun.

Jack stopped at a large rock to catch his breath. He looked up. "I guess I could take another look," he said to himself. Jack looked around to make sure no one was looking (though he was sure if they saw him they'd kidnap him or something like that).

When he was satisfied, the spirit jumped up, using his blue tail to hoist himself up onto the rock. He stared at the land. Its sands were golden, and the clear water lapped upon the shore. The sun shining down on him was pleasant,  and he looked upon the landscape, like a king observing his kingdom. He snorted at the thought. _Yeah right._ Though the shore was truly beautiful, there was something that was more stunning. Jack had heard of humans before, but never before had he seen one. The human appeared to have long strawberry blonde hair in two identical braids, and vibrant blue eyes.  _A girl,_ Jack realised in wonder. He watched the girl run along the shore and dive into the waves. With a grin, Jack swam closer. He wanted to see how she interacted with the dolphins and fish that often passed her by. He noticed she showed them compassion.

He was so invested in watching her that he hadn't noticed that she'd looked up and was now staring at him. When he realised, his eyes widened. Could she...see him?

Suddenly, she fainted. Jack swam downwards. He cradled the girl in his arms and zoomed upwards, breaking the surface of the water. He placed her on the shore. 

"You remind me of someone..." he muttered, looking at her face. The girl lay, breathing shallowly. He recognised her as the girl he used to play ice games with when she was little. He did it as an apology for what he'd done to her in the past. He remembered the ice bolt striking her head, and the horrified faces of the parents. She'd grown up with him. How could he have forgotten her in that single moment? He realised that he'd forgotten her name too. What was it? After some reminiscing, he remembered her name. "Anna," he murmured.

Suddenly, there was a gasp of 'Anna!'. The merman quickly dove into the sea and swam quickly towards the rock he'd originally viewed her from. He watched as a middle aged woman with light brown hair and green eyes ran towards her and helped her up.

Jack sighed. He now needed a way to turn human and win her heart. She could see him already, yes, but he didn't want her to just see him. He wanted her to be beside him. He wanted to comfort her and be with her, no matter what it took.

That was when Jack Frost knew he was in love.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on come on come on come on..."

 

Jack was looking for the fabled sea warlock, Pitch Black. He helped people achieve their desires, and merfolk came out of the cave with all sorts of wonderful consequences, talking about how Pitch granted their deepest wishes. Jack hoped Pitch would do the same for him.

 

"Hello."

 

Two seahorses, Onyx and Jinx, suddenly came up behind Jack. The spirit turned round.

 

"Oh! You're Pitch's helpers, aren't you? Could you take me to him?"

 

"Yes," they answered simultaneously, their gold eyes flashing black for a second. Jack paid it no attention however, and followed the seahorses to Pitch's lair.

 

The lair of Pitch Black was a gigantic cave, with a big garden full of little dark things named Fearlings. They looked up at Jack with haunting eyes, and the teen vaguely recalled tales of how Pitch had turned merfolk into monsters if they didn't complete their given task to achieve their goal in time. Jack had never believed those stories...until now, of course.

 

One Fearling tried grabbing his tail, but Onyx hit it away and the two seahorses surrounded Jack in an almost protective like stance.

 

Jack looked around the main part of the cave. "Whoa," he muttered. It was even more spectacular than the stories that had described Pitch himself.

 

"Jack Frost. How amusing."

 

The smooth, silky voice made Jack start and he looked up. A laugh came from the sea warlock's throat and he turned round. Pitch was thin but muscular, with eight black tentacles, like an octopus. He had combed back neat black hair and startling gold eyes.

 

"Um...how do you know my name?" Jack asked, a little uneasy.

 

"Don't worry! I know the whole sea, Jack. Even the spirits."

 

The winter spirit was reminded of his state of being once more. This made him even more determined to achieve his goal.

 

"I'd like to make a request."

 

"By all means, do so," Pitch invited him to speak. Jack hesitated before opening his mouth.

 

"I'm in love with a girl."

 

"Oh, are you now?" Pitch asked. He floated over to his globe. "Well, I can find-"

 

"A human girl. She's called Anna."

 

"Oh. That's new." The sea warlock looked at Jack. "And how might you achieve her love?"

 

"To turn human, win her heart and stay with her permanently."

 

"What a unique case. I must say, that's very...different from what I usually get." Pitch had floated round his globe now, and was looking at Jack.

 

"Anything else?" The winter spirit asked, not too rudely.

 

"Well, you have three days to win her heart. This is mostly effortless; it's been rumoured she loves very easily. By the fall of the third sunset, if you have not kissed her, you will belong...TO ME." The sea warlock prodded a grey finger on Jack's chest. The merman gulped.

 

"Seems like a good plan," he stuttered. Pitch smirked.

 

"One other thing. For this, there is obviously payment."

 

"Payment?" Jack asked curiously.

 

"Yes. You see, this desire helping thing isn't free. It has to cost something."

 

"But I don't have anything," Jack frowned.

 

"Yes you do."

 

"What?" Jack asked, a little suspicious now.

 

"Your voice. It's only logical that you pay me with something you hold dear."

 

Jack's brows furrowed deeper. Then, he slowly nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."

 

"First, contract." A piece of parchment appeared out of nowhere. Jack didn't hesitate for a second, quickly signing his name. After that, the paper vanished, and Pitch conjured up two hands, made of his signature black sand.

 

"Sing."

 

Jack did so, and the hands moved towards him. His voice was taken out of his voice box and he silently gasped, putting his hands on his throat as he watched the glowing object be put into a shell of some kind.

 

Suddenly, in a flash of light, Jack was surrounded by a black sandstorm. His tail split into two legs. Pitch cackled evilly as Jack feverishly swam upwards. The sea warlock's laugh grew louder and Jack wanted to get away from that horrifying sound.

 

The former winter spirit broke through the surface, shaking his hair free from water droplets, which fell back into the ocean. He ascended, looking around as he made it onto land. His legs wobbled and he nearly fell over, but he managed to keep upright. After a few tiny steps, he fell again, but was saved by a pretty little hummingbird who pulled him to his feet using the clothing that he possessed; a pair of brown trousers and a blue shirt with frost patterns on it.

 

"Are you alright?" The hummingbird asked. Jack nodded. He wasn't sure how she could talk, but he deemed it as normal. A small grey rabbit with emerald green eyes came out of the bushes near the shore. "What happened Tooth?"

 

"I don't know...I think he came from the sea," the hummingbird said. The rabbit frowned.

 

"Aw no. 'e can't talk. Or walk," the bunny said in his strong Australian accent.

 

"One foot in front of the other," Tooth encouraged.

 

Jack tried, but suddenly fell once more. However, this time, someone caught him.

 

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"

 

Jack looked up. It was Anna. He stammered, but no sound came out. She looked at him, worried.

 

"Can you not talk?"

 

The former merman shook his head.

 

"Okay, it's fine. We'll just er...get you inside."

 

Slowly, the two made their way to the castle. Jack couldn't believe this was actually happening.

 

He just hoped Pitch was right about Anna falling in love easily.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

"I really didn't want to hurt him." 

"I know your majesty. I know." 

The king of the sea, North, closed his eyes as he remembered his son. That fateful day, the boy had swum down, further than he was allowed. North knew Jack had been upset. If only he'd stayed out of it. If only he hadn't screamed at Jack for losing the heirloom. 

It had been his wife's brooch. It had been bronze, with a shell symbol in the middle.  _God knows where it's gone,_ North thought as he traced his forefinger over the letters on the large grave. Hopefully, it was with Jack. Hopefully, it was safe. Hopefully, Jack was watching from the heavens. Hopefully....after all these years, Jack would finally forgive him. 

With a choked sob, the middle aged man drew his hand away from his son's gravestone, and, comforted by the servants, returned to his palace. 

He knew it would be a long time till Jack forgave him. 

 

- 

 

Jack stared in awe at the castle as the princess helped him up the stairs. It was getting easier to walk now, with Anna coaxing him. She was patient, and kind. He wondered how such a girl could have been made. 

Finally getting to her room, he collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He watched Anna, who looked really worried. 

"Are...are you better?" 

Jack nodded. 

"Okay, um...you stay here. I'll get someone." 

Anna went to leave, but Jack touched her wrist. The beautiful princess turned to look at him and Jack shook his head.

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how he needed her. He opened his mouth. No sound came out. He could see tears welling up in her eyes at this. 

_Oh no. Don't cry Anna._

Anna blinked back her tears. Jack felt a strange relief on seeing that. He watched as she sat down on her bed.

"Um, I want to ask you something..."

Jack just looked at her, patient.

"Do you want to stay here, in the castle? Until you get on your feet, of course."

Jack nodded enthusiastically. He hugged her tightly. Anna laughed a little, smiling gently as she hugged back. She was happy with her new companion, that's for sure. 

"So...dinner?"

The former merman nodded again. Anna giggled, grabbing his hand before running downstairs. Jack stumbled, but managed to keep up with her.

Meanwhile, on the bedroom windowsill, Tooth and Aster sat, looking at the now empty room.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" The colourful hummingbird asked.

"Hopefully. I'm not sure I like him being with the princess though." 

"Relax," Tooth said gently, placing a wing on the bunny's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be fine with him. Besides, it could lead to something more." She winked before flying off. 

"TOOTH!" Aster groaned. The hummingbird laughed.

"Catch me if you can, rabbit!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Aster quickly hopped down the various windows in the castle before finally reaching the ground. He ran after the hummingbird with determination.

 

In the background, on the horizon, the sun was beginning to set, golden yellow settling into deep red and orange. A dolphin beautifully flipped upwards, launching itself above the line of the horizon, before landing in the water again. 


End file.
